Indian stock markets end week on a strong note, driven by investors' interest in large-cap stocks

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 21 (ANI): The Indian stock markets on the last trading session of this week ended on a strong note, as investors found large-cap stocks appealing due to their attractive valuations.
At the end of the trading session, the Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) stood at 23,350.40, up about 159 points or 0.69 per cent. The Sensex at BSE was up 557.45 points or 0.73 per cent at 76,905.51.
According to the Bajaj Broking Research team, Investors have found large-cap stocks appealing due to their attractive valuations.
Nifty despite global volatility witnessed a strong rebound in the last 2-3 weeks and is up by 1400 points or 6.5 per cent from the recent March low of 21964. Concerns over trade tensions and fluctuating US policies have kept the Global equity market highly volatile but the Indian Market has been resilient and has witnessed a strong rebound.
The Bajaj Broking Research team added that the sharp pullback can be attributed to the fact that there was short covering after last four months sharp decline.
Commenting on the market's strength, Rohan Shah, Technical Analyst, Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediates Ltd (ACMIIL) said, "A decisive breakout above this zone could fuel further upside towards 23,800-24,200. Conversely, failure to surpass this hurdle may trigger profit-taking, dragging the index lower towards 22,800-22,500."
Nifty on the last trading session commenced the day on a marginally negative note, but after initial volatility, the index resumed buying interest and settled on a strong bullish note.
The broader market outperformed Nifty, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices rising by 1.38 per cent and 2.06 per cent, respectively. At BSE, the midcap and smallcap indices gained one to two per cent.
The stocks of BPCL, ONGC, SBI Life Insurance, NTPC, and Bajaj Finance exhibited strength and emerged as the major gainers at the NSE. The major losers in today's trading were Hindalco Industries, Wipro, Trent, Infosys, and Tata Steel.
The consumer durables and metals traded in red while other sectors at NSE ended in green territory. The sectoral indices of oil & gas, media, and telecom added about two per cent today.
During today's session, the Nifty 50 closed the week with a strong 5 per cent upside move, forming a bullish belt-hold candlestick pattern at the daily timeframe and marking it as one of its best weeks so far. (ANI)